78 A IX GALERICULATA 



Duck, the Mandarin utters a low nib, the second syllable very short, and at times a 

 subdued grunting note. Finn (1909) describes the male's note as a "snorting 

 whistle" and the female's as a "sneezing quack." At best the notes are very difficult 

 to reproduce. 



No special alarm-note has been mentioned by any observer, though it is probably 

 a modification of the oe-eek call. Rogeron (1903) remarks that his aviary birds, when 

 alarmed, stretch their necks, compress their feathers, and flatten out the crest and 

 wing-fans. 



This species is not so noisy as the Carolina Duck. According to my own notes the 

 jiib of the male is sometimes nearly a grunt, at other times rises to a fine whistle. 

 There is also a fine chattering note, used when feeding, which is only audible at a dis- 

 tance of a few yards. In fact there is a great variety of calls. The jiib seems to come 

 from the crop, with a deep, almost drumming sound. With many males displaying 

 together, there is a continual chattering jeib or du-ib, the bill working very fast and 

 the tail throbbing at each note. With the females the call is often just an ack-ack in 

 single syllables, but sometimes in two syllables, more like the oo-eek of the Carolina 

 Duck but not so attractive or musical. 



Heinroth's (1911) observations on the note of the Mandarin are well worthy of 

 summary. He says the note of attraction of the female is shorter than that of the 

 Carolina Duck, sounding like huett or wack. Its coquettish note is kett or ke. The 

 alarm-note is similar but sharper. When searching for a nest among trees he heard 

 them utter a soft gegegegege, similar to that of the Carolina Duck but easily dis- 

 tinguishable from it. He also mentions the grunting note which I have described for 

 the male and the soft whistling uib which he considered very little different from 

 that of the Carolina Duck. 



Food. So little has been recorded concerning the food of wild Mandarins that we 

 can merely assume that their diet is similar to the Carolina Duck's. We know that 

 the birds eat acorns greedily in captivity and will even dive for them (Heinroth, 

 1911 ; Finn, 1915b). Richthofen (1907) found nothing but acorns in the crop of one 

 killed in southeastern China. It appears that they feed also on snails (Taczanowski, 

 1893) and on seeds of various kinds, grass-sprouts, worms, etc. (Naumann, 1896- 

 1905). A most remarkable statement is that of Dorries (1888) who speaks of them 

 as feeding in the spring on the roe of dead fish in the Ussuri region. 



Courtship and Nesting. Heinroth (1911) came to the conclusion that the sexual 

 life of the Mandarin is quite different from that of the Carolina Duck, and that in this 

 respect it resembles the Mallard rather more than the American species. There are 

 highly developed social plays, during which the expanded fan-shaped tertials and 

 the finely developed head- and neck-feathers are displayed. The social play is car- 



